OSJMUN Political

Committee

Issue : Syrian Civil War

Forum: Political Committee

Issue: Syrian Civil War

Student Officers: Ediz Çeri, Oğulcan Karaca

Introduction:

The Syrian Civil War has constantly been at the forefront of

international concern and policy ever since its beginnings in 2011.

This issue, though beginning in Syria, has spread to have a truly

global impact, leaving no member state unaffected. The United

Nations has implemented countless resolutions to address this issue,

however, none has been fully effective, causing violence and

bloodshed to persist, and even progress. It has been estimated that

475,000 have been killed within Syria as a result of this conflict, with

as many as 1200 being killed outside of Syria in attacks directly linked

to the region.

KeyWords:

Ethnic: Relating to a particular race of people

Cult: A religious group,often living together, whose beliefs are

considered extreme or strange by many people

Middle East: The area from the eastern Mediterranean to Iran

including Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq,

and sometimes also Egypt.

Sarin: A poisonous gas that attacks the nervous system and can kill,

sometimes used as a chemical weapon.

Civil War: A war fought by different groups of people living in the

same country.

Rebel: A person who is opposed to the political system in their

country and tries to change it using force.

Revolution: A change in the way a country is governed, usually to a

different political system and often using violence or war.

Ethnic Minority: A group of people of a particular race or nationality

living in a country or area where most people are from a different race

or nationality.

Arab Spring: The Arab Spring was a series of pro-democracy

uprisings that enveloped several largely Muslim countries,

including Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Bahrain. The

events in these nations generally began in the spring of 2011,

which led to the name.

History

Peaceful Protest to Bloodbath

In March of 2011, a group of teenage Syrian Protestors in Deraa, a

city in the southern part of the country, were tortured for writing

revolutionary slogans on a public school wall. In response, protestors

calling for greater democratization gathered outside the building of the

Ba'ath party. Syrian armed forces attacked with arms, killing an

estimated 220 protestors and leading to incarceration of over a

thousand of innocent citizens. This siege only encouraged more

protests and opposition from the people, calling out against Syrian

President Bashar al-Assad for allowing this tragedy to occur. That

summer, just a few months after the incident in Deraa, hundreds of

thousands of Syrians joined the fight, calling for President Assad to

step down. When security forces continued to use violence against

these protestors, the opposition armed themselves, which led to the

beginning of a full on civil war.

Protestors in Deraa.

Civil War Arises

As the fight between the rebels and security forces grew and

continued, the conflict became territorial. By 2012, the conflict had

spread to Syria‟s two largest eastern cities, Damascus and Aleppo,

catching the attention of the International press. United Nations

statistics state that 90,000 Syrians had been killed in the war by June

2013, less than a year from the start. By August 2015, that number

nearly tripled, reaching 250,000.

Ethnic Groups

Armenians: They first came to northern Syria in small numbers under

the Armenian Empire. In the first half of the 7th century, Armenia was

conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate (632-661) and Armenians were

taken into slavery. Armenia was captured by the Seljuk Empire (1037-

1194) and many Armenians fled the country to settle in the region of

northern Syria. The Ottoman Empire took control of Armenian people

after they conquered Syria in 1516. Prior to the ongoing Syrian Civil

War, it was estimated that anywhere from 70,000 to 100,000

Armenians lived in Syria.

Circassians: Circassians first came to Syria following a forced

migration from their original homeland in the Caucasus Mountains to

Balkan and Anatolia regions of the Ottoman Empire after Russia

defeated them in the Caucasian War (1817-64). They are in Syrian

Civil War now.

Syrian Kurds/Kurdish People: Syrian Kurds were referred to as the

„forgotten Kurds‟ since they attracted very little attention from

researchers and public media.The Syrian Civil War placed the Syrian

Kurds on the regional map as they managed to occupy and control

some of the northern parts of the country. They even sparked global

interest when they proved to be the most effective and loyal Middle

Eastern allies to the American-led coalition against the Islamic State

on the Syrian front of the battle (IISS 2016, 310).

Turkmens of Syria: Syrian Turkmens first migrated to Syria in the

beginning of the 11th

century when the area was ruled by the Seljuk

Empire, but most came to Syria after the Ottoman Empire conquered

it in 1516. Since the Syrian Civil War broke out, Syrian Turkmen

fought against the government and asked Turkey for support since

Syrian Turkmen had close ties with the country. In December 2012,

the Syrian Turkmen Assembly and its military wing of the Syrian

Turkmen Brigades formed to protect Turkmen settlements and

represent them at peace talks.

Arabs: The majority of the Syrian people is Arabs. They came to

Syria with the conquest of this region from the Arabian Peninsula.

Their religion is Islam as well.

Timeline

Date Event

January 2011 Uprising begins as part of the Arab Spring

March 2011 Protest actions spread throughout Syria;

Syrian security forces respond with

violence

July 2012 Start of the armed conflict that spreads

into Aleppo, Syria‟s largest city and

commercial capital

November 2012 The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) is

formed, bringing majority of the

opposition forces together

August 21, 2013 The regime drops chemical weapons in

two rebel-held zones near Damascus,

killing approximately 1,400 people

June 3, 2014 Bashar al-Assad is reelected as President

June 2014 Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants

declare “caliphate” in territory from

Aleppo to eastern Iraqi province of Diyala

September 2015 Russia carries out its first air strikes in

Syria, claiming that it aimed to eradicate

ISIS; however, western powers and the

rebel forces state that it overwhelmingly

targeted the rebels

December 2016 Assad‟s troops take back Aleppo

April 2017 Trump orders airstrikes against Syrian

airbase

Events:

2011: Movements broke out after security forces arrested a group of

boys for spray-painting anti-government graffiti on their school walls.

Security forces opened fire on the unarmed protesters, killing four

people. In response to civilian deaths across Syria, then US President

Barack Obama called on the President of Syria, Assad, to resign.

2012: The fighting spread to Aleppo, the second-largest city in

Syria.Obama warned that if Syria used chemical weapons, it would

have "enormous consequences" that would change his idea about

involving in the country's civil war. He infamously called it a "red

line."

2013: A gas attack in Aleppo killed 26 people, at least half of whom

were government soldiers. After an investigation, UN concluded that

sarin gas was used, but they couldn‟t determine who used it. Both the

government and the rebel forces accused each other of using the

prohibited gas. Sarin gas attack killed hundreds of people in the areas

of Damascus that were controlled by rebels. UN investigators

determined that missiles packed with sarin were fired into civilian

areas while people were sleeping. The US and others blamed the

Assad regime for the attack.

August 31, 2013: Obama announced that he would ask the Congress

for authorization to strike back against the Syrian government, but the

Republican-controlled legislature failed to act.

UN investigators looked for traces of chemical weapons.

September 27, 2013: The UN Security Council threatened to use

force against Syria if it didn‟t destroy its chemical weapon stockpile.

By mid-October, Syria signed the Chemical Weapons Convention;

this prohibited it from producing, stockpiling or using chemical

weapons.

June 23, 2014: The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical

Weapons (OPCW) announced that it had removed all of the Syrian

government's chemical weapons. But government opponents said that

the Assad regime had hidden chemical weapon supplies.

September 23, 2014: The US launched limited airstrikes against

"Islamic State" (IS) militants inside Syria.

August 7, 2015: The UN Security Council authorized the OPCW and

UN experts to investigate new reports that Assad had.This time he was

suspected of repeatedly using chlorine gas in opposition areas

populated by civilians.

Russia begins bombing:

September 30, 2015: After providing military aid behind the scenes

since the war's inception, Russia actively had a conflict. The Russian

air force carried out relentless bombing attacks against Assad

opponents and was also accused of deliberately bombing civilian

targets, including hospitals. A civil war that had been deadlocked for

four-and-a-half years began to move steadily in favor of the Assad

regime.

August 24, 2016: The joint OPCW-UN panel determined that the

Syrian military used chlorine gas in three separate attacks against its

opponents - two of which were carried out by helicopters. But

investigators also determined that IS militants also used mustard gas.

February 28, 2017: Russia and China rejected UN Security Council

resolution calling for sanctions against the Syrian government in

response to its use of chemical weapons.

April 4, 2017: At least 58 people were killed in the town of Khan

Sheikhoun. Victims showed the signs of a chemical weapon attack.

Witnesses claimed that the attack was carried out by Russian or Syrian

jets, but both Moscow and Damascus denied the allegations.

April 6, 2017: The US fired a barrage of cruise missiles at the military

base. US President Donald Trump, who campaigned as an isolationist

and a populist, defended the attack, calling it a "vital national security

interest of the United States."

May 9, 2017: Trump approved military plans to arm the Kurdish YPG

as part of the effort to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa from IS

militants. The move infuriated NATO.Washington regarded the YPG

crucial to defeat the IS in Syria. But Ankara viewed the group as an

extension of the Kurdish PKK militant group, which was (and by

Washington) considered a terrorist organization. But without a UN

Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in

The Hague, the commission's relentless work appeared to be in vain.

Efforts to send the commission's work to the ICC had been vetoed by

permanent Security Council members, Russia and China. It was out of

frustration with that political stalemate that commission member Carla

del Ponte announced in August 2017 that she would be quitting the

commission.

July 7, 2017: Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a

limited ceasefire in three war-torn provinces in southwest Syria.

July 9, 2017: The ceasefire was declared.

July 23, 2017: Syrian warplanes bombed the suburbs of Damascus,

just one day after the military forces had declared a cessation of

hostilities in the area.

Key Players

Turkey

The Turkish government has strongly opposed President Assad‟s

government ever since the start of the uprising in Syria. As the key

supporter of the rebel forces, Turkey has hosted more than 2 million

refugees and allowed rebel groups, arms shipments, and refugees to

pass through its territory.

The United States

The U.S. is willing to work with Iran and Russia and continue the

fight against ISIS; however, it will not allow Syria to go back to the

prewar status quo. Though the U.S. is strongly convinced that Assad is

responsible for the widespread atrocities and that Assad needs to go,

the U.S. acknowledges the fact that there should be a peaceful

negotiation settlement to end the civil war and form a transitional

administration. The U.S. currently supports the National Coalition for

Syrian Revolution and Opposition Force. Though President Donald

Trump had previously condemned military involvement in Syria

during the Obama Administration, this April he launched an air strike

against Assad-aligned forces at a Syrian airbase as a response to the

use of chemical weapons.

Russia

Russia is one of the main supporters of the current Assad government,

and whether the regime continues to exist depends on Russia‟s aids.

With its veto powers within the UN Security Council, Russia has

blocked Security Council resolutions that would have weakened the

regime; moreover, it has provided the Syrian military forces with

weapons and has launched air strikes against rebels, stating that it

intended to strike “all terrorists”.

Iran

Iran is one of the primary financial supporters of Assad‟s Alawite-

dominated government, spending billions of dollars each year and

providing military advisers and subsidized weapons, as well as lines

of credit and oil transfers. The main reason why Iran aids the Syrian

government is because Syria is the main transit point for Iranian

weapon shipments to the Lebanese Shia Islamist movement

Hezbollah. Iran may have influenced Hezbollah to send fighters to

support the regime, but it also suggested a peaceful transition in Syria

in October 2015.

The Islamic State

When the pro-democracy rebels revolted against the Syrian

Government, Assad released a group of imprisoned jihadists into the

civil war to tarnish the reputation of the rebels so that they could not

gain Syrians that were protesting Russian military involvement.

The Islamic state began as a branch of the terrorist group al-Qaeda

which led the Iraqi Insurgency in 2006. They survived in the fall of al-

Qaeda in Afghanistan, moving further west and finding an opportunity

to gain a strong presence in Syria after the Civil War began. It was

known as ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Assad tolerated

the rise of the Islamic State in Syria because it took attention away

from hisregime and weakened the rebels. The Islamic State has been

able to gain control over several large territories in Syria, violating the

rights and killing thousands of innocent civilians and sparking foreign

attacks on the region.

Chair’s Notes:

As the chairs of the Political Committee in OSJMUN 19 we highly

recommend you to act according to your countries‟ previously

mentioned policies. We acknowledge the harmful and damaging

effects of war. Nevertheless, you need to stick to your country‟s

hostile and opportunist policies as we need to keep the committee as

realistic as possible.

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